Houlihan Lokey, Inc. (NYSE:HLI) Plans Dividend Increase – $0.53 Per Share

Houlihan Lokey, Inc. (NYSE:HLI – Get Rating) declared a quarterly dividend on Thursday, May 12th, Zacks reports. Investors of record on Thursday, June 2nd will be paid a dividend of 0.53 per share by the financial services provider on Wednesday, June 15th. This represents a $2.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.50%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, June 1st. This is a positive change from Houlihan Lokey’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.43.

Houlihan Lokey has increased its dividend payment by an average of 17.1% annually over the last three years and has raised its dividend every year for the last 7 years. Houlihan Lokey has a dividend payout ratio of 28.2% meaning its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Equities research analysts expect Houlihan Lokey to earn $6.36 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $1.72 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 27.0%.

Shares of HLI opened at $84.66 on Friday. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $88.41 and a 200 day moving average price of $101.26. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.70 billion, a PE ratio of 13.21 and a beta of 0.65. Houlihan Lokey has a 52-week low of $71.04 and a 52-week high of $122.62.

Houlihan Lokey (NYSE:HLI – Get Rating) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, February 8th. The financial services provider reported $2.90 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.21 by $0.69. Houlihan Lokey had a net margin of 20.52% and a return on equity of 34.96%. The firm had revenue of $888.80 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $664.27 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.77 EPS. Houlihan Lokey’s revenue was up 65.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Houlihan Lokey will post 5.63 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

HLI has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Piper Sandler cut shares of Houlihan Lokey from a “neutral” rating to an “underweight” rating and decreased their target price for the stock from $92.00 to $76.00 in a report on Thursday, April 7th. Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on shares of Houlihan Lokey from $97.00 to $95.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, March 25th. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their price target on shares of Houlihan Lokey from $127.00 to $111.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 12th. StockNews.com raised shares of Houlihan Lokey from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, Zacks Investment Research lowered shares of Houlihan Lokey from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 23rd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $105.83.

In other Houlihan Lokey news, Director Paul Andrew Zuber sold 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $109.91, for a total transaction of $109,910.00. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Company insiders own 26.02% of the company’s stock.

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Prudential PLC grew its holdings in Houlihan Lokey by 2.8% during the first quarter. Prudential PLC now owns 8,631 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $758,000 after purchasing an additional 235 shares during the last quarter. Verition Fund Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Houlihan Lokey by 4.1% in the first quarter. Verition Fund Management LLC now owns 6,778 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $595,000 after acquiring an additional 269 shares during the last quarter. Great West Life Assurance Co. Can grew its stake in shares of Houlihan Lokey by 10.0% in the first quarter. Great West Life Assurance Co. Can now owns 4,010 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $373,000 after acquiring an additional 363 shares during the last quarter. Ariel Investments LLC grew its stake in shares of Houlihan Lokey by 0.6% in the first quarter. Ariel Investments LLC now owns 126,117 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $11,073,000 after acquiring an additional 776 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Renaissance Group LLC grew its stake in shares of Houlihan Lokey by 5.2% in the first quarter. Renaissance Group LLC now owns 19,483 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,711,000 after acquiring an additional 971 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 74.34% of the company’s stock.

Houlihan Lokey Company Profile (Get Rating)

Houlihan Lokey, Inc, an investment banking company, provides merger and acquisition (M&A), capital market, financial restructuring, and financial and valuation advisory services worldwide. It operates in three segments: Corporate Finance, Financial Restructuring, and Financial and Valuation Advisory.

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